Packers Rank Last in Special Teams Rankings
DETROIT – Ranking 10th in points scored and eighth in points allowed, the Green Bay Packers will close the regular season at Detroit on Sunday with the No. 1 seed in the playoffs secured.
Where the Packers aren’t strong is on special teams. In fact, according to the rankings compiled by three-time NFL special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica for The 33rd Team, the Packers will take the worst special teams in the league into the playoffs.
Kotwica’s rankings are a combination of Football Outsiders’ DVOA and a points system similar to that compiled annually by Rick Gosselin of SI.com’s Talk of Fame Network.
The Packers are last in the NFL in starting field position after a kickoff, 31st in field-goal percentage, 24th in opponent starting field position after a kickoff and 23rd in opponent net punting.
Green Bay was last in Packer Central’s rankings a few weeks ago. The Packers have played better down the stretch, though, for first-year coordinator Maurice Drayton.
Kicker Mason Crosby has made all 23 kicks the past four weeks. None of them have been long but at least he’s splitting the uprights, giving the operation of Crosby, holder Corey Bojorquez and long snapper Steven Wirtel momentum and confidence into the biggest games of the season.
The league median for net punting average is 41.1 yards. Bojorquez is 17th with a net of 40.1, his mark trashed by a miserable game last month against Chicago. Of note, he has beaten that 41.1 average in 11 games, including by at least 4 yards in seven games.
Last week, David Moore had a 21-yard punt return in his Packers debut, the team’s longest since 2018. Rookie Amari Rodgers will be forced back into duty this week.
Green Bay will be tested this week. Detroit’s Jack Fox not only is fifth in net punting but he’s completed two passes on fakes. The Lions are 12th in starting field position after a kickoff return and third in opponent starting field position after a kickoff, and Kalif Raymond is third in the league with an 11.2-yard average on punt returns.
“We’ve got a big task this week,” Drayton said. “When you look at Detroit, I’ll tell you, Dave Fipp is phenomenal [as coordinator]. All his teams have always been top five; on a bad year for them, top 10. The kicker [Austin Seibert] has a toolbox. I think he’s attempted three surprise onsides; they’ve recovered two. They’ve faked multiple punts this year. Dave’s units are playing at a high level. It’s a big, big task for us, and I think it’s a great challenge going into the playoffs. We’re excited about matching up with these guys.”
